UC San Diego Library – Scripps Digital Collection

The ring net, or purse lampara, is a cross between the purse seine and the relatively light lampara. It first appeared at San Pedro, California, in 1918, and was pronounced a failure. A few persistent fishermen, however, insisted that it had great possibilities and continued to experiment. They finally succeeded in accomplishing their purpose, which was to combine satisfactorily the advantages of the two parent forms. In spite of its good points, the new net was not generally used until after 1926, when economic warfare with the sardine purse seiners forced the lampara fishermen to adopt a more effective form of gear. The use of the ring net has now spread to other fisheries, but its development is due entirely to California sardine canning. A brief history of this industry will show the reasons for the various changes in fishing gear.